{"id":263,"date":"2016-04-11T10:23:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-11T10:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/2016\/04\/11\/top-7-local-nigerian-fruits-and-their-health-benefits\/"},"modified":"2020-09-26T12:10:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-26T12:10:03","slug":"top-7-local-nigerian-fruits-and-their","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/top-7-local-nigerian-fruits-and-their\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 7 Local Nigerian Fruits And Their Health Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nigeria is located in the tropical zone, and hence a lot of amazing fruits grow there. Today it’ll fun to find out the Top\u00a0<\/span>Nigerian local fruits<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and their\u00a0<\/span>health benefits<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I will be giving a brief description of each fruit, highlighting their nutritional value and some of their health benefits. This list is in no particular order. Stay tuned.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. African pear<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ube<\/em> or Atili<\/em> is commonly known as African Pear. It is scientifically known as botanically known as Dascroides Edulis. African pear is a very delicious fruit, and it can be eaten raw or roasted with salt.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Health Benefits of African pear are based on its nutritional value. It contains 48 percent oil, vitamin D, ascorbic acid, calcium, folic acid and magnesium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Health benefits are :<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It contains a lot of antioxidants due to the presence of rich vitamin C content.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 African pear has a lot of calcium, which means that taking it often can notably reduce the risk of osteoporosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It presence of folic acid makes it great for pregnant women. Because it helps them avoid infant deformity such as spina bifida.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 The fleshy back of the fruits can be used to treat skin disease like body rash.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Black velvet tamarind<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Black velvet tamarind is locally known as ‘Icheku<\/em>‘ in Nigeria. The fruits are very small, about a centimetre in diameter, The fruits have a black velvet shell. It is normally eaten by cracking the shell to reveal an orange pulp, that is sucked or chewed. They can be taken as snacks or soaked in water to produce a kind of drink<\/span><\/p>\n

The nutritional contents of black velvet tamarind are beta-carotene (Vitamin A), tartaric acid, sodium, potassium, iron, calcium, and vitamin C.<\/span><\/p>\n

The health benefits of black velvet tamarind are:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Generally, it is a healthy fruit, due to its numerous nutritional content it has manifold functions in the body like regulating cell function or red blood cell production.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It equally has antioxidant properties ( tartaric acid) that prevent free radicals from harming our body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 They also have a lot of dietary fiber that reduces the LDL (bad cholesterol) in the body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is also used medicinally as a laxative.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Soursop<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Also known as Graviola, Soursop is a fruit with a green, spiny skin. It has a whitish inside which is eaten. It is extremely delicious and has a considerable amount of sourness. This fruit is packed with coolness and is wonderfully refreshing when taken in the dry season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Health Benefits of soursop are:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is used herbally to reduce, stomach pain and cramps.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It can also be used to treat respiratory system problems like cough.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It contains many phytochemicals that slow down the growth of cancer cells.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Garden egg<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Garden eggs are locally known as Anara<\/em> to the Igbos and Igba<\/em> to the Yorubas. This fruit has a spongy, seedy flesh that is crunchy and slightly bitter. It is eaten with a peanut paste (Ose Orji), then it gets very delicious. Garden egg is scientifically called\u00a0<\/span>Solanum Melongena,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The nutritional contents of garden eggs are dietary fiber, manganese, potassium and magnesium. It is also very rich in vitamin B.<\/span><\/p>\n

The health benefits of garden eggs are:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is excellent for people that want to lose weight, because of it’s poor calorie count.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is very good during hot weather, it can hydrate you immeasurably.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Garden eggs are so good for the nervous system and heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 They help in lowering blood sugar level.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Pepper fruit<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pepperfruit, is locally known as Mmimi<\/em> and Ata Igberi<\/em> Igbos and Yorubas respectively. It is spicy fruit. The fruits are small in size. When unripe versions they are green in color, but when ripe, they are red with sweet soft, juicy flesh. It can be eaten as a snack or even used as a condiment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Health benefits of pepper fruits are :<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Because of its spicy, pungent aroma, it is used to treat nasal congestion and cold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is used to prevent glaucoma because it reduces intra ocular pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is given to pregnant women because it helps in uterine contraction.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. African star apple<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

African star apple is known as Agbalumo<\/em> to the Yorubas and Udala<\/em> to the Igbos. This is a very popular African fruit. It has orange skin, a deep orange pulp and strong brown seeds. This fruit is delightfully sweet. This fruit is commonly seen around December to March.<\/span><\/p>\n

The nutritional value of African star apple are: Dietary fiber, calcium, vitamin C and Iron.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Health Benefits of African Star apple are;<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is very powerful in the treatment of diarrhea and fever.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 It is also great for weight loss because it just contains 65 calories and is poor in fat content.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Almond fruit<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

To almost every Nigerian, this fruit is simply known as fruit<\/em>. It is a very common fruit that grows many times a year. It is green when unripe and yellow when ripe.<\/span><\/p>\n

The nutritional value of the almond fruit are protein, vitamin E, magnesium, calcium and potassium.<\/span><\/p>\n

The health benefits of almond fruits are:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 They reduce heart attack risk notably.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 They help alkalize the body because of the high amount of calcium and potassium.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 They provide healthy fats and aid weight loss.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria is located in the tropical zone, and hence a lot of amazing fruits grow there. Today it’ll fun to find out the Top\u00a0Nigerian local fruits\u00a0and their\u00a0health benefits. I will be giving a brief description of each fruit, highlighting their nutritional value and some of their health benefits. This list is in no particular order. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youmustgethealthy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}